DAY 6
Not much is open in Des Moines on July 4, at least in the downtown area.
The boys and I drove to West Des Moines and got some things for a picnic. The store had a different kind of cash register: Your cart went off the left while you and your items circled around to the right, meeting up at the end. Way cool.
We ate in a little park with our pastor, Marlys Hershberger, who was at the conference with Janet. We all managed to keep cherry pie off our clothes.
In the evening, we saw the Iowa Cubs (AAA for the Chicago Cubs) play at Principal Park. It was their largest crowd ever at 14, 179, and at the concession stands, it sure felt like it. You could hardly walk through.
And besides Dippin’ Dots, the only ice cream to be had was a Blue Bunny chocolate malt, a frozen shake in a cup that you have to let melt for about 12 innings before you can start mixing it.
And outside the park is a sculpture with a kid apparently about to swing his bat at the catcher.
And between innings, when vehicles circle the field to shoot out T-shirts, a couple ended up at the wall in center and just stayed there throughout the game.
Principal Park people—Ya Goofs!
Actually, it was a decent park, but what can compare to Blair County Ballpark? And the hometown boys won by a healthy margin, ending with a double play.
Happy Birthday, America!
DAY 7
We were shooting to leave town about 10:30 and hit the road right on schedule at noon. Heck, we stopped for lunch even before getting on the Interstate.
Nice job keeping on schedule, Team EEK! Ya Goofs!
Our destination is Mount Rushmore. Our reservation was at a motel about three-quarters of the way there. The billboards across the state are entertaining. It makes it hard to pass up the Corn Palace today and Wall Drug, where we’ll stop tomorrow before Rushmore.
Our motel is a little quirky but nice. The light on a timer in the bathroom is a bit much.
For that, we say: H & H El Centro Best Western people—Ya Goofs!
We had fun throwing a beach ball to a little kid at the pool. Emmett got the kid to bob him (Emmett) in the face over and over with the ball. Good times.
DAY 8
We had a traveler in full teenager mode at being asked to … gasp! … get up. Ethan, Ya Goof!
No continental breakfast in sight this morning. I thought all Best Westerns offered that. H & H El Centro Best Western—Ya Goofs!
Ah, well, that gave an excuse to chow down at world-famous Wall Drug. We spent two hours there.
On to Rushmore. The heads looked smaller than expected. Must be the result of a lifetime of close-up photos.
Ethan was more teenager than ever at being asked to … gasp! … walk here and there at a legendary site. But he came around at Crazy Horse.
Wow. This was all we expected and more, from the excellence of the operation to the beauty of the facility to the grandeur of the sculpture to the expansiveness of the dream, which I hadn’t realized extends even to a university and medical center for Indians. Humbling. This is what inspired the creation of Team EEK! It’s nice to have even that thread of a connection. We even danced together in an Indian dance led by Sidney (Shoot, I wish I could remember his last name. It ends in— well. He was once the International War Dance Champion.)
Of all sites of national importance, I put this second only to the memorials at Washington, DC. If you don’t have it on your list of places to visit—well, I don’t want to call it a goof. I just urge you to put it on your list of places to visit!
Leaving Rapid City, I was pulled over for speeding. Keith, Ya Goof!
But I’ve never met a more pleasant and professional officer. I received a warning.
Janet made an excellent call in asking for a return trip through Badlands National Park. I had been more interested in making time back across South Dakota. I was wrong. It’s unforgettable. “Badlands” is exactly the right term for land as harsh and sandy, and yet the vistas are beautiful.
Plus prairie dogs!
For Ethan-like resistance to taking that routine, Keith gets a loud: Ya Goof!
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